Hawaii rescued rare coral after wild colonies vanished, then returned it to reef
Marine biologists in Hawaii have successfully restored a rare coral species to Kaneohe Bay after it vanished from the wild in 2015. Scientists used a land-based nursery and microfragmentation techniques to grow mature colonies before reintroducing them to the reef.
Why it matters
This project demonstrates a viable method for preserving biodiversity and restoring damaged marine ecosystems in the face of climate-driven bleaching events.
A rare coral species found nowhere else on Earth except Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii has been successfully returned to its natural habitat after completely disappearing from the wild. The recovery project was led by the Hawaii Coral Restoration Nursery, a facility run by the state Division of Aquatic Resources. In 2015, marine biologists rescued surviving pieces of knobby finger coral (Porites compressa variant / rare Hawaiian endemic strains) from Kaneohe Bay on the island of Oahu. They placed the fragments in a special living collection known as the Rare Hawaiian Coral Ark. Soon after the emergency collection was completed, natural colonies of the rare coral disappeared completely from the wild reef because of heat-related bleaching events and storm damage.
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